Fresh erosion by Madhumati in Faridpur
More families shift houses to safer places in Madhukhali upazila
With recession of water at the end of the rainy season, the Madhumati River erodes areas at Gayeshpur village in Madhukhali upazila under Faridpur district, right, a teacher of Muslihul Ummah Nurani and Hefezia Madrasa conducts a class under the open sky as the madrasa house remains highly vulnerable to erosion by the river that has reached only 20 to 25 metres from the institution.Photo: STAR
With the recession of water from rain-fed Madhumati river, erosion has started again forcing more villagers to shift their houses to safer places at Gayeshpur village under Kamarkhali union in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur district. During a visit to the village a couple of days ago, it was found that people of seven families shifting their houses hurriedly to the western bank of the river as erosion took an alarming turn on the eastern part again. Apart from rendering more people homeless, erosion by the river was devouring a vast area of cropland. It was also threatening the lone madrasa of the village. Panicked teachers were seen holding classes under the open sky fearing erosion any time as the river reached only 20 to 25 yards away. Earlier, from September 26 to October 30, the river washed away huge farmland, a portion of the Kamarkhali-Bakshipur-Gayeshpur embankment and homesteads rendering at least 136 families at the village homeless. Of the total 143 affected families, 115 have taken shelter at safer places on the western bank of the river while 28 families including that of Solaiman Mondal, Makbul Sarder, Sayeedur Rahman and Abul Khayer Fakir went to Ulinagar village in Magura Sadar upazila on the north-western part of the river. Meanwhile, a team led by Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Faridpur Mohammad Helaluddin Ahmed, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) in Madhukhali Mirajul Islam Ukil and the chairman of the Madhukhali upazila parishad Mafizur Rahman Manju distributed 30 kilogram of rice, a blanket and one thousand taka to each of one hundred affected families. A few aggrieved victims in the village, however, alleged nepotism in preparing the list of the erosion-hit families. Refuting the allegation, chairman of Kamarkhali UP Mohammad Lutfor Rahman, also the president of the union unit AL, said "We shall prepare another list of more 100 affected families who will also get the same quantity of the relief materials".
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